Ron Howard Was Wrong: Apollo 13 Would Have Burned, Not Frozen

The Apollo 13 module, had it not been for NASA’s heroic efforts to get it back on course, would have missed Earth and tumbled into the depths of cold, lonely space.

At least that’s been the story repeated in popular, academic, and cinematic accounts of the ill-fated mission, like Ron Howard’s Apollo 13.

Now, space writer Andrew Chaikin and a team of modelers at Analytical Graphics have stumbled upon a surprise: The official story isn’t true. Instead of drifting into a nearly eternal orbit around Earth, the ship would have swung out past the moon, been pushed by its gravitational field, and been sent hurtling back toward Earth on a collision path, as described in the video above.

In any case, the crew would not have survived. They’d have frozen first, then burned up on re-entry.

Luckily, James Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise were able to use the lunar module as a lifeboat and make it safely home with the help of Ed Harris, er, Eugene F. Kranz, the flight director for the mission.

And while we’re debunking Apollo 13 myths, the astronauts never actually said, “Houston, we have a problem.” They said, “Houston, we’ve had a problem.”

And if you ever correct someone on the presence of that helping verb at a party, you join an elite club of pedants who love space and grammar too much. Contact us immediately with a YouTube video of the incident and we’ll send you a pin, because it’s our club.